November 09, 2007

I Am There: Todd Haynes and Bob Dylan

Bob Dylanwas not there to celebrateTodd Haynes'smovie “I'm Not There,”a biopic of sorts about the iconic songwriter/performer, but Haynes played M.C. at the Beacon Theater on Broadway this past Wednesday. Al Kooper,a sideman for Dylan in the '60's, Calexico,Lee Ranaldoof Sonic Youth, the Million Dollar Bashers, Yo La Tengo,the Roots were there,--and in a tepid cameo Heath Ledgerintroduced a variety of music idioms smoothly covered the essential Bob Dylan. Having attended the infamous Newport concert where fans of Dylan on acoustic guitar stormed the stage when he went electric after the intermission, this event was tame and civilized by comparison. I guess in this era of tame and civilized when it comes to the anti-war spirit that spawned this sound in the first place, that's what you get. Todd Haynes's film is, however, challenging in that Dylan is evoked in six fragments, that is, six strands of his life, with six actors who are playing Dylan, but not by name. A clever conceit, this structure is actually a daring way to portray a legend who is simply hard to pin down. In one storyline, Cate Blanchettis made up to look exactly like Dylan in D. A. Pennebaker's classic “Don't Look Back,” little black suit, skinny tie, Jewish frizz and all. And while Haynes acknowledged this borrowing during a press conference at The New York Film Festival earlier this fall, it does not appear anywhere in the movie. The Pennebakers may not be thrilled, but then again why should they care? IFC will soon screen a new documentary comprised of Pennebaker's unused footage of the same UK tour that inspired his earlier landmark film. Meantime a few blocks south at the Walter Reade theater, D. A. Pennebaker, his wife and filmmaking partner Chris Hegedus, and others of the Pennebaker clan were helping the Coen brothers celebrate their new film, “No Country for Old Men,”based on the Cormac McCarthy novel. The stars Josh Brolin and Javier Bardemwere there. Bardem sported his real hair and not the creepy page-boy worn in this film and in the recent “Goya's Ghosts.” The handsome actors held court at the packed after-party where French fries were served up wrapped in paper French bistro style and the grilled cheese had a kick. Regina Weinreich